Diageo bidding $8 billion for Seagram

CBS.MarketWatch.com

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Foods and drinks company Diageo and its French bidding partner, Pernod Ricard SA are expected to announce a deal Tuesday to buy Vivendi Universal's Seagram unit for $8.1 billion.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal's online edition citing people familiar with the matter, Seagram entered into exclusive talks Monday with Diageo and Pernod after deciding that the pair's joint bid was the winning proposal. The Journal report said most issues had been resolved over the weekend and attorneys were working out the details. A Seagram spokeswoman declined to comment for the Journal.

Officials of the companies involved could not be reached for comment late Monday by CBS MarketWatch.

Vivendi
V, +0.89%
was believed to have received two bids for Seagram. The Diageo-Pernod bid apparently beat out a rival bid by Bacardi, Brown-Forman
BF.B, +1.01%
and Vin & Sprit. Reuters reported over the weekend that Vivendi tried to get the Bacardi-led team to raise their bid, which was seen under $8 billion.

Diageo
DEO, +0.00%
is the world's biggest liquor company, and any acquisition is likely to face antitrust hurdles both in the U.S. and overseas despite the fact that Diageo and Pernod have set up an elaborate process to divvy up brands, the Journal report noted.

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